Pet house

ABSTRACT

Pet house in the form of an attractive piece of furniture which can be readily opened to a pet house usable in a person&#39;&#39;s living quarters.

United States Patent [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS [72]Inventor Earl W. Breeden 832 Grayson Ave., Waynesboro, Va. 22980 9959H9HHHH9H9 9999 9 liillll ill] 1. W W mm mm. T M n d m mmw e [S Y I830THWORBL 3589 57 255666 9999999 1111.111 l/l/l/l 4 8373 465 86 8868903 J12'7350 532979 Ill-22333 0 n 9 1 4 um V 7 Q MN E 0 d 0 .L n pew T na EAFP P 1]] 1 25 4 224 5 [[l .l

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

v. r e b d m Rh h mm rs k Mu J rk en .mu m a x y We m mo nu PA mm n DH 51 I 9 ..l l L C S U 1 2 5 .1

s11m.cl.........................................................Aolkiii/im,A0lk67/00 ABSTRACT: Pet house in the form of an attractive piece of [50]Field of ll9/1, l5, furniture which can be readily opened to a pet houseusable in 19 a person's living quarters.

PATENIEnuuv 9l97l 3.618568 SHEET 2 [1F 2 IIIIIIIIIUIIIIIII.

PET HOUSE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l Field of the Invention Thepresent invention relates to a pet house which is usable for cats anddogs and the like in the personal living quarters of the owner orcaretaker. The house is in the fonn of a piece of furniture which issufficiently attractive for daytime use with other furniture and openedwhen desired to the pet house by unfolding a side or the top into a rampwhich the pet may use to enter the sleeping compartment of the house.Ventilation holes are provided and the pet's sleeping compartment mayhave an adjacent litter compartment.

2. Description of the Prior Art Usually pets are accommodated in theowner's or caretakers living quarters, if they are tolerated in theliving quarters at all, by a sleeping basket usually placed at someremote location so that it will not be tripped over or otherwise form anobstruction to the passage of the human occupant of the living quarters.They are single-purpose items and usually are unattractive so that theowner prefers that they be out of sight. They are provided as a rulewith pillows or other bedding material. In addition, sometimes litterbaskets or trays separate from the bedding arrangement have beensuggested for use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, aunique pet house is provided that has the dual function of a piece offurniture, attractive enough that it can be placed in any part of theliving quarters of the human owner but may be readily converted to anattractive pet house by either lowering a side or unfolding the top toprovide a ramp for the pet to enter. The floor of the pet house hasbedding material placed therein to provide a comfortable-beddingarrangement for the pet and the surrounding walls provide a feeling ofsecurity so that the pet can sleep without disturbance. The pet house isprovided with vents so that it can be constantly aired and may beprovided with a sliding drawer litter compartment or similar arrangementhousing a litter-catching material. The litter compartment has an insideentrance so that the pet can enter the "litter compartment" withoutleaving the pet house and at the same time eliminate an exposed outsideunattractive opening. The sliding drawer permits the litter to beremoved and discarded at the convenience of the owner and prevents theobjectionable litter from visually intruding into the living quarters.

Many objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I shows a perspective view of oneembodiment of the pet house;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of FIG. 1 with the litter drawerexploded outwardly and the ramp in the down position;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along section 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along section 4-4 of FIG. 3 butwith the ramp in the down position;

' FIG. 5 is a front view of another embodiment of the pet house with theramp in the down position;

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view of FIG. 5 taken along section 66;

FIG. 7 is a top view with a portion broken away of FIG. 5 with the rampin the up position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION With reference to FIG. I the pet house isshown in a first embodiment as a piece of rectangular furniture havingfour legs 11 with feet 12 on the end thereof so as to elevate the bottomportion or floor of the pet house above the floor of the room in whichit is sitting. Such legs could be solid and extend around the entireperiphery of the pet house provided the pet house floor is elevatedabove the floor of the room upon which it rests. Two ventilation holesI3 are provided for purposes of permitting airing of the inside of thepet house even when it is in its closed position. At one end or side ofthe house is provided a drawer 14 with handle 15 to enable it to bereadily withdrawn from the house. The portion of the house over thedrawer is a first flat tabletop section 31 maintained in a fixedposition and flush with the tabletop section 31 and forming an extensionthereof at the opposite end is a hinged lid I6 formed of a lower part 17and an upper part 18. The lower part is hinged to the pet house by twohinges I9.

As seen in FIG. 2 when the hinged lid is rotated to the open position itforms a ramp which reaches to the floor at an acute angle permitting thepet to walk up the ramp and jump into the pet house or else walk up theramp and jump onto the flat fixed portion 31 of the tabletop where itmay rest, look out the window, or otherwise enjoy itself. The ramp isprovided with a series of steps cleats or antislip means 20 to make iteasier for the pet to climb the ramp.

The drawer 14 has two sides 21 which are substantially the height of thedrawer and an end 22 cutaway at 23 so that the pet may enter the drawerfrom inside the pet house when the drawer is in its closed position.

As best seen in FIG. 3 the pet house is divided into two compartments,the left compartment having a bedding material 24 resting on the floor32 and the right compartment containing litter material 25 resting in ashallow pan or tray 33 at the bottom of the litter drawer. Thus the petcan jump from the bedroom portion of the pet house through the slot orend cut 23 into the bathroom portion so that its litter can be caught bythe litter material. Since the end cut of slot 23 still leaves asubstantial portion of the drawer end 22 intact, it to some extent formsa wall between the two parts of the pet house. It is also seen that boththe bedding and litter arrangements are clearly above the floor of theroom in which the pet house is placed. Also as seen in FIG. 3, a space26 is located between the lower part of the lid 17 and the upper part ofthe lid I8 so as to accommodate the end steps 20.

FIG. 4 taken along section 4-4 of FIG. 3 clearly shows the ventilationhole 13 having a suitable decorative mesh placed therein. It also showsthe ramp in its lowered extended position held in a straight extendedmanner by hinge 27.

In FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 is shown a second embodiment of the pet house whichhas legs 11 with feet 12. The circular house shown has a series of smallventilation holes 13 having decorative mesh thereover placed justbeneath the flat circular top 28. This top would normally not be openbut may be provided with an arrangement (not shown) where it can beremoved to change the bedding and clean the pet house when such isdesired by the owner. The height of the pet house shown is of theconventional height of a standard coffee table and again the floor 32 ofthe pet house is elevated above the floor of the room in which it ispresent. The sides 29 of the pet house are made of a suitable decorativefurniturelike material such as wood, plastic, and similar materials. Inthe second embodiment the ramp in its closed position forms a portion ofthe sidewall rather thin the top of the pet house. Again, the ramp mayhave several steps cleats or antislip means 20 thereupon to make it easyfor the pet to climb the ramp to enter the house and bed down for thenight. Inside the house is a suitable bedding material 24 which usuallyconsists merely of a thin flat pillow or pad.

As best seen in FIG. 6, which is a section taken along section 66 ofFIG. 5, the ramp 29 is hinged to the pet house by hinge 30. When it israised to its up position a latch (not shown) holds it in that positionuntil released.

FIG. 7 is a top or plan view of FIGS. 5 and 6 and shows the ramp 29 inits upward position as well as showing a better view of the circularshape of the pet house and the circular shape of the pillowlike beddingmaterial.

It can be readily appreciated after considering the foregoingdescription of the invention that an attractive piece of furniture isprovided that is sufficiently attractive to be placed almost any placeof the living quarters of a home or an apartment but is convertible foruse as a pet house for a dog or cat or the like that will provide afeeling of security and may also provide a litter compartment that canbe entered from the bedding from the bedding compartment of the house.Since utilization of living quarters is becoming more and more of aproblem as society becomes more urbanized, the pet house describedfulfills an increasing and important need. This is especially true sincethe pet baskets and similar devices used in the past have been botheyesores and nuisances and unless placed in remote comers constitutehazards which may be tripped over or kicked accidentally by peoplewalking through the room.

While two embodiments of the invention have been specifically described,the invention may be embodied in numerous other forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiments are there fore to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofthe equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embracedtherein.

What is claimed is:

l. A pet house in the form of a piece of furniture comprising an outersurface having a flat top and sidewall, at least a portion of the saidtop outer surface pivotally mounted on a sidewall so as to form a rampwhen in the open and down position and to form a closure when in theclosed and up position said ramp having at least two hinged portions andwhen ex tended being of a length substantially exceeding the height ofsaid house from the floor to said pivotal sidewall mount, a floorincluding a bedding compartment for the pet, leg means for disposingsaid floor and bedding compartment in an elevated position; andventilation means permitting air to enter and exit from the interior ofsaid house when the ramp portion is in a closed position.

2. A pet house as defined in claim 1 wherein said portion of said flattop forming said ramp includes antislip means portion.

3. A pet house as defined in claim 1 wherein a drawer means removablefrom a side of said pet house which underlies the said fixed portion ofsaid flat top, said drawer means defining a litter compartment having aninner end wall at least partially cut away so that the pet can enter thelitter compartment from said bedding compartment without leaving the pethouse, and a tray for receiving litter material located in the bottom ofsaid drawer means.

4. A pet house as defined in claim I wherein:

a litter compartment is located adjacent said bedding compartment,

a separating wall between said litter compartment and said beddingcompartment,

an opening in said separating wall to permit the pet to enter the littercompartment from the bedding compartment without leaving the pet house;and

a litter receiving means located in the bottom of said littercompartment to receive litter material.

5. A pet house as defined in claim 4 wherein said litter receiving meansis removable form the side of said pet house.

*mesw

1. A pet house in the form of a piece of furniture comprising an outersurface having a flat top and sidewall, at least a portion of the saidtop outer surface pivotally mounted on a sidewall so as to form a rampwhen in the open and down position and to form a closure when in theclosed and up position said ramp having at least two hinged portions andwhen extended being of a length substantially exceeding the height ofsaid house from the floor to said pivotal sidewall mount, a floorincluding a bedding compartment for the pet, leg means for disposingsaid floor and bedding compartment in an elevated position; andventilation means permitting air to enter and exit from the interior ofsaid house when the ramp portion is in a closed position.
 2. A pet houseas defined in claim 1 wherein said portion of said flat top forming saidramp includes antislip means portion.
 3. A pet house as defined in claim1 wherein a drawer means removable from a side of said pet house whichunderlies the said fixed portion of said flat top, said drawer meansdefining a litter compartment having an inner end wall at leastpartially cut away so that the pet can enter the litter compartment fromsaid bedding compartment without leaving the pet house, and a tray forreceiving litter material located in the bottom of said drawer means. 4.A pet house as defined in claim 1 wherein: a litter compartment islocated adjacent said bedding compartment, a separating wall betweensaid litter compartment and said bedding compartment, an opening in saidseparating wall to permit the pet to enter the litter compartment fromthe bedding compartment without leaving the pet house; and a litterreceiving means located in the bottom of said litter compartment toreceive litter material.
 5. A pet house as defined in claim 4 whereinsaid litter receiving means is reMovable form the side of said pethouse.